Introduction

A large number of epidemiological studies have revealed that women with endometriosis (EMS) have a higher risk of developing endometriosis-associated ovarian cancer (EAOC). At present, there are few studies on predicting the malignant transformation of ovarian endometriosis (OE). The purpose of this study is to identify and verify the molecules that may be able to predict the malignant transformation of OE.

Methods

The gene expression profiles of ovarian cancer and OE were downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), and a common hub gene ribonucleotide reductase M2 (RRM2) was identified. A total of 44 patients with EAOC and 44 with OE were enrolled in this study. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) were used to detect the expression of RRM2, while the relationship between RRM2 and Ki-67 was analyzed by IHC co-localization.

Results

Bioinformatics analysis showed that the expression of RRM2 was low in EMS and high in ovarian cancer. RRM2 was obviously positively expressed in eutopic endometrium (EU), ectopic endometrium (EC), and cancer tissues of EAOC patients. The IHC signal and mRNA levels of RRM2 were higher in the EC of EAOC patients compared with OE patients (P < 0.01). In addition, there was a correlation between the expression of RRM2 and Ki-67 in EC of EAOC patients (P < 0.01).

Conclusion

The upregulated expression of RRM2 in the EC of OE patients may indicate malignant transformation. High expression of RRM2 promotes abnormal proliferation of histiocytes. RRM2 can be used as a potential marker of malignant transformation of OE.

中文翻译：

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RRM2的高表达可预测子宫内膜异位症的恶性转化

介绍

大量流行病学研究表明，患有子宫内膜异位症（EMS）的女性患子宫内膜异位症相关卵巢癌（EAOC）的风险更高。目前，关于预测卵巢子宫内膜异位症（OE）恶变的研究较少。本研究的目的是鉴定和验证可能能够预测 OE 恶性转化的分子。

方法

从 Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) 下载卵巢癌和 OE 的基因表达谱，并鉴定了一个常见的中枢基因核糖核苷酸还原酶 M2 (RRM2)。本研究共招募了 44 名 EAOC 患者和 44 名 OE 患者。采用免疫组织化学（IHC）和定量逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-qPCR）检测RRM2的表达，通过IHC共定位分析RRM2与Ki-67的关系。

结果

生物信息学分析显示，RRM2在EMS中的表达较低，在卵巢癌中的表达较高。RRM2在EAOC患者的在位子宫内膜（EU）、异位子宫内膜（EC）和癌组织中明显呈阳性表达。EAOC患者EC中RRM2的IHC信号和mRNA水平高于OE患者（P  < 0.01）。此外，EAOC患者EC中RRM2与Ki-67的表达存在相关性（P  <0.01）。

结论

OE患者EC中RRM2的上调表达可能表明恶性转化。RRM2的高表达促进组织细胞的异常增殖。RRM2可作为OE恶变的潜在标志物。